“ In practice the needs of the population are always underestimated, with the result that there is a chronic shortage of half the necessities of life ”
George Orwell, 1984 (1949). copy citation
| Author | George Orwell |
|---|---|
| Source | 1984 |
| Topic | underestimating necessity |
| Date | 1949 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt |
Context
“Ultimately it is scrapped as obsolete, never having brought any material benefit to anybody, and with further enormous labours another Floating Fortress is built. In principle the war effort is always so planned as to eat up any surplus that might exist after meeting the bare needs of the population. In practice the needs of the population are always underestimated, with the result that there is a chronic shortage of half the necessities of life; but this is looked on as an advantage. It is deliberate policy to keep even the favoured groups somewhere near the brink of hardship, because a general state of scarcity increases the importanceof small privileges and thus magnifies the distinction between one group and another.”
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